I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that I am He.
Parallel translations
- WEB From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he.
- KJV Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
- NKJV Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.
- NASB From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that I am He.
- NLT I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I Am the Messiah.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus foretells the betrayal so that when it happens they will believe that He is who He claims. It strengthens faith through fulfilled prediction.
Overview
By announcing events beforehand, Jesus gives His disciples grounds for faith when the dark hour arrives. The phrase 'that I am he' echoes the divine name (cf. Exod 3:14; John 8:58), pointing to His deity. Foreknowledge thus serves to confirm His identity and deepen trust amid coming trial.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 43:10“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, and after Me none will come.
- John 14:29And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe.
- Rev 1:17–18When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
- John 16:4But I have told you these things so that when their hour comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
- John 8:23–24Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
- Isa 48:5Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’
- Matt 24:25See, I have told you in advance.
- Matt 11:3to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”
- John 8:58“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
- Mal 3:1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- John 1:15John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”
- Luke 21:13This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses.
- Isa 41:23Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 13:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.